Delilah smiled, thinking she might enjoy this holiday more than ever now and getting back to basics really couldn’t be that hard. She’d done it all for herself when her career was in its infancy, and she could do it again if it gave her a place to stay and regroup. This family certainly needed her help.
Since her breakup with Peter, she felt alone—floating on a desolate island with nobody needing her for who she was. No one to fall back on for support or love. Okay, the studio wanted her for the writing she did, and Brad wanted her because she made him look good with her complex plots and popular series. That didn’t make her feel needed as in someone relying on her for personal help or for matters of the heart. This little dysfunctional, broken family needed her in a way nobody else ever had, that much was obvious from the state of the kitchen and the exhaustion showing on the father’s face. Motherless children automatically pulled at a woman’s heartstrings, and Delilah wasn’t immune to the emotion it evoked in her, regardless of her former stance of not having children of her own.
Even what Peter demanded from her wasn’t in the same league as what this family needed. Maybe it was the timing, or perhaps it was the wrong person demanding from her.
“That's okay. I needed saving in a way too. Being caught in a rut was doing nothing for my muse, so I guess we should help each other out until you come up with a better solution and I can go home.” There was more to this saving business, but Blake didn’t need to know about it. Some things a girl had to keep close to her chest. “Um, shouldn't the other child—Royce—be inside by now though?” She looked out of the kitchen window, worried that it was getting dark and he was still outside without his father keeping an eye on him.
“Yes, he should but Royce being Royce, it will be a battle getting him away from the shed. If you’ll take Lilly, I’ll go and round him up. Knowing my son, he will be in the lambing pens covered in muck.” He handed her a very sleepy little girl smelling of strawberry shampoo and walked out of the kitchen.
“Are you kidding? Covered in sheep poop? That is gross.” She screwed up her nose and held the clean girl, glad that Blake was going for his son and she didn’t have to deal with something like that on her first night. Sheep poop, not appealing, not at all.
“Hey, sweet thing. Feel better now you've had a bath?” The little girl snuggled into Delilah's neck and a sensation of maternal joy swept through her body. The thought of having children hadn’t been on her priority list no matter how much her ex had pushed it. Her career was too important, and the main reason for her recent messy and painful break up.
At the moment Lilly was docile and clean, a state that made things easy for her first night. How would I cope if she got dirty or threw a temper tantrum? What if she hurt herself outside and I had to look after her? Blood and screaming children did nothing for her peace of mind, normally she ran from the sight of both. The thought pushed those rising hormonal tides back once again to be replaced by a quick jolt of panic clutching at her throat.
Motherhood was something other people did, not her. All romantic notions aside, she was here to do a job, and that was enough to calm her fluttering nerves. With the sweet-smelling girl in her arms, Delilah pulled out a chair and sat down, crooning soft words she pulled from a far distant memory almost forgotten. The thought of feeding the child was gone before it surfaced. Lilly was clearly past eating as her eyelids drooped lower. One of Delilah’s earliest memories was of her mother smoothing her hair as Delilah drifted off to sleep, and she hoped it was enough to sooth the little girl.
She lifted her hand and stroked the long brown hair, damp from the bath, and heard Lilly sigh before putting her thumb in her mouth. The sound of sucking reached her ears and the small body relaxed against her. “Tomorrow you’ll have to show me around, Lilly. We can have so much fun together once I figure out what you like to do.”
When Blake came back in with a dirty seven-year-old in tow and an elderly gentleman on his heels, Lilly was sound asleep, small soft snores coming from her lips.
“Damn, I knew she was going to do that.” He shook his head, his shoulders slumping in resignation. “At least she’ll go to bed clean. Delilah, meet Royce here, and Bluey. Guys, Delilah is here to help us out for a few weeks until we get another nanny.”
“Nice shoes.” Bluey looked up to meet her gaze and cackled loudly. “Blake said you didn't really look farming material. I guess he was right.”
“I have no problem admitting I'm a city girl either.” She glanced at the dusty shoes and knew they wouldn’t survive a clean. Oh, well. I have plenty more to choose from, but these ones were favorites.
Delilah stood and ran her hands down her skirt when Blake took Lilly from her arms. Holding her over his shoulder, he winked at her with a playful grin on his face before heading down the
